Target
by Layna Remi
Summary: When Erin and Jack are shot during a late date night the family rushes to find out who attacked and why. With both Jack and Erin's lives in danger it is a race against time on who was the intended target and why.
1. Chapter 1

The hour of midnight sent a chime that filled the whole house; through the vacant rooms of the first floor. One that would not wake either of the residents up at the Bay Ridge home; No, that would come only five shot minutes later. It was a sharp knock that jolted Frank from his bed; he took a glance over at the alarm clock to his left and groaned as he rolled over. Another sharp knock forced him to push himself up and slid his feet into his slippers before pulling over his robe.

"I'm coming," he yelled out in response to yet another knock. This one must have woken Henry because soon Frank heard another set of footsteps to the room on his left. It was not long before his father met him in the hallway, eyes still half closed, hair in a tussled mess.

"What's going on Francis," He asked following his son to the staircase.

"I have no idea Pop." He walked down the steps and flipped the foyer lights on. He snapped shut his eyes as the light that had been changed three days prior illuminated both the foyer and the den. One final knock sounded as he peaked out the small peephole to see a security detail and Garrett standing him front of his door. He undid the locks and slowly pulled the door open, letting in the flurry of snow and cold breeze in.

"Garrett, what's going on?"

"Frank; you and Henry need to get dressed and come with us." The severity of the situation not yet known to Frank was shown solely on Garrett's face as he gave the command.

"What's going on?" He ushered the men into his home, closing the door tightly behind them.

"Frank, a call went out tonight around 11:30 about shots fired at the Brooklyn bridge park, two victims shot." It was obvious this was not a random couple shot and his mind went straight to the only couple he knew of in this family, Jamie and Eddie.

"Killed?" His stomach acted up as he pushed those words past his lips.

"No sir both critical at St. Victors," Garrett responded. Henry had now joined them half way down the stairs as he stood and listened. "The 'couple' that was identified is Jack Boyle and Erin." A million questions rushed his mind as the words come out of Garrett's mouth but he didn't have time, instead he excused himself and ran up to slip into some sort of clothes before returning down. He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed the first number that came to mind.

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Danny had just laid his head down on his pillow, or at least that is what it had felt like. The phone interrupted his much-needed sleep and caused him to reach his arm out and feel around for his phone. It couldn't be about a case, Baez and he had just finished their latest and today it was supposed to be his day off. He finally felt the cool metal edge of his phone hit his fingertips and lifted it up. With one eye shut and the other squinting, he was able to see the ID read "Dad/ Commish." This instantaneously caused him to wake up, if his dad was calling this early it was not going to be good.

"Dad," He answered his voice gravely in sound.

"Danny, I need you to get up," His father commanded. Danny swung his feet over the side of the bed and was well enough alert.

"What's going on Dad?"

"There was a shooting tonight, the victims are at St. Victors as we speak."

"Who dad," His father's cover up of calling whoever was hurt "victims" was going to do nothing to ease Danny into the information.

"Erin… and Jack."

"Jack; as in Jack Boyle,"

"Yes Danny, listen we don't have a lot of information on their condition but it's not sounding good, do you think you and the boys can get over to the hospital soon?"

"Yeah, I'll wake them now, we will be there soon dad, call me if you have any updates." For just a moment Danny sat on the edge of his bed, it was 12:20am and he had to wake his boys. The only time he had done this was last year on that horrible day when he had to tell them their mother was dead. Currently he prayed to God not to take another one of his family members, especially another sibling. He pushed himself up and made his way to Jack's room.

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It was late; by now on a Tuesday night Nicki would be in bed, soundly sleeping but tonight was different. It was procrastination really, not something, she was known for but between making times for her other classes and making time for family in friends her English 435 paper slipped her mind. The dull computer screen illuminated a small section of her side of the dorm room; she tried to keep as much light on her as too not disturb her roommate Katie. She glanced at the bottom of her computer screen, 4934 words down only 66 more to go, her closing argument would easily push her past her required word count. She picked up her textbook and scanned through her highlighted sections to find her final point. With quick finger strokes she typed her final paragraph, saved the document before emailing it out, she looked at the clock, 12:50; she had made it with 10 minutes to spare. She let out a breath of relief before closing her laptop and shoved it along with all the textbooks to one side of her bed.

As anyone would know, a common distraction to any task is a phone, which Nicki had turned off and tucked away neatly into her drawer. No that she had finished the final paper she pulled the drawer open and clicked it on; never in her thoughts would she think she would have missed so much in the three hours she had gone without communication. She stared at her screen as ping after ping sounded lighting up the small screen. Green bubbles all labeled from her grandfather, uncles or cousins filled the cell phone, she tried to slide one open to see what was happening but she was interrupted by a phone call.

"Uncle Jamie," She whispered. She stood up from her bed and crept to the door, looking back at Katie to make sure the noise hadn't woken her.

"Thank God Nicki, we have been trying to reach you, are you okay?" She was confused; she knew her family was protective but not about getting late night texts. She began to think that maybe something had happened at the school but no notifications had popped up on her phone.

"I'm fine Uncle Jamie, I was trying to finish my paper so I had my phone off."

"You're at your dorm."

"Yeah," She responded still confused, "why what's going on?"

"I'm in the parking lot, you need to get down here ASAP, I'll explain." Before she could push farther, he hung up and left her in the hallway with a million questions. She ran back into the dorm room and slipped into warmer clothes, grabbed her phone and keys and ran out.

Being on the fifth floor was rough in this type of situation; she had to run down five flights of stairs still in panic. Each time she cleared a floor a new scenario of what could possibly be happening. Rarely had she heard her Uncle Jamie speak in such a tone, the only other time was… She stopped dead on flight three and yanked her phone from her pocket. She scanned through her texts; Uncle Danny, Uncle Jamie, Sean, Jack, Grandpa, even Eddie; suddenly she did not want to finish the run down. Her mother was not on the list, it had to be about her; none of the text specified what was happening just the usual, "Where are you?" or "Nicki; pick up." She could feel the tears form as she clicks out of her texts and into her phone app, dialing her mother. One shot ring and she found herself listening to her mother's voicemail, she tried again, refusing to believe that she was right but when the second phone call ended up like the last she felt her stomach twist. She ran down the rest of the stairs, taking off through the front door and out into the courtyard. This time of night it was a ghost yard, not a soul in sight. She ran down the paved walk way and to the parking lot. There they stood, Jamie and Eddie waiting for her. She stopped for a moment and tried to read their body language. He leaned up against the car but his facial expressions were hidden by the brightness of the headlights, same with Eddie.

"What's going on," She yelled from her spot not wanting to move any closer to him. He didn't respond, instead her walked over to her but she took a step back when he was within four feet.

"Nicki, I'm not going to sugar coat this."

"Mom," She stated.

"Yes." It did not surprise him that she had deduced what was going on, she had grown up with a family of cops.

"Nicki, it wasn't just your mom." She could tell he was finding his words had to say as he looked her in the eye.

"She was with someone?" An odd time to bring up her mother's dating life, truly she didn't care who this random man was.

"Nick… The other victim was… your dad." Nicki scoffed in disbelief, once again backing away from him. She shook her head as she tried to rationalize this as some sick joke or a dream. It only took seconds for everything to start spinning quickly and her legs to give out. Were it not for Jamie inching his way closer she would have fallen to the ground but he ran up and caught her before she could.

"Are they dead," She sobbed as they sat together on the gravel.

"No, Nick we should go, come on," He lifted her up and helped her walk to the car, tossing Eddie the keys before seating them both in the back seat.

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Okay, I'm back! I took way too long to write this; apparently a new job plus being a nanny takes up all your time, Who knew? So I deleted my other Erin story because, well I felt like I couldn't do it justice with my idea but here is a new one where the family finds out that she is dating her Ex husband during a scare set of events. I hope you like it, please review, I love to read them and also ahead of time here is an apology for the amount of time it will take between posts. ~Layna


	2. Chapter 2

"Please don't ask me," Nicki begged as her uncle walked over and sat beside her. They had been sitting in the waiting room in a dead silence for about four hours now and now as the early morning hours began the energy had died down. After spending the first two hours pacing Danny passed out with Sean and Jack, Henry sat with Eddie, each buried in a magazine that they had no intention of reading and Frank had stepped out. Getting the news that both her parents where critical had made her sick to her stomach.

"I won't, I just need you to drink this," Jamie handed her a water bottle. The news about Erin had hit the family hard, there was no possible way he could begin to imagine what Nicki was feeling with both her parents in danger. Instead, he did his job, making sure that she didn't drain herself and be there for when she wanted to talk. "I mean it Nicki, please drink that." She unscrewed the cap and took a small sip to please him.

"Did you know," She asked.

"Know what kiddo," Jamie asked confused.

"About Mom and Dad," She responded.

"That they were back together?"

"Yeah."

"No, she didn't tell me anything, she probably thought we would judge her or something." Nicki gave him a eye roll and smirk.

"I knew," She admitted.

"She told you," He inquired.

"No, she never would have, I'm sure she thought that I would get the wrong picture." She couldn't help but laugh at the thought that her mother was trying to protect her. "I think I knew when I went to visit my dad a month ago and saw on his calendar 'Dinner with E,' it was kind of a dead giveaway."

"Yeah, I guess some feelings never fade," Jamie commented. All of a sudden, Nicki felt a little anger rise in her, and in her fragile state there was no containing it.

"Yeah and look what it got them," She pushed her way out of her chair as she felt that lump in her throat. "I need some air, I'll be right back," She quickly added as she saw Jamie about to stand too. She pushed out the door and didn't look back, she felt claustrophobic, she needed to get out.

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Frank had stolen a conference room on the third floor of the hospital, on the surgical floor and out a five-second walk to the waiting room. He glanced at his watch, four hours and twenty minutes; that was the last time he had heard anything about Erin. He had walked into the emergency just as Jack was being pushed towards the south elevators; he did not like the looks of it. A nurse had come up to him, moved him to the "family quiet room", and explained all the medical jargon of what was happening. It was then he wished Linda was alive to explain it all to him but he was glad that in some way she was the one that was going to watch over Erin.

He now stood in the empty room waiting for Garrett to get back from helping Baker and Gormley upstairs. He stared out the large Bay window that over looked Brooklyn; even at five am, it was beautiful. The city he grew up in was plagued with bad memories, he felt like he should have hit him limit on bad news.

"Sir," Gormley entered the room with Abigail right behind him, both half asleep as they dragged themselves in. They knew Frank to be a stoic man, one that showed very few emotions and tonight was a prime example. His usual calm demeanor faltered as he turned to them but he pulled it together.

"Please sit," He took the chair at the head of the table. Baker looked at them both before taking the chair to the left of him and the men followed suit.

"Has it gotten out yet?"

"Not yet, just the bare minimum of details about the shooting," Garrett answered. "Location an victim count," he clarified. Channel 8 had already picked up the story, in the past few hours they had called at least twelve times to get an update. "We have pushed them back on any details but with you being here, there is sure to be a connection made."

"I know, give it a few more hours until we know what is going on with Erin."

"We can do that." Garrett promised.

"Whose on the case," Frank walked over to the Stain glass mural on the wall.

"Detective Martinez and Fletcher out of the 2-9," Gormley quickly answered.

"And what do they have so far." Gormley looked from Garrett to Baker who both had the same look of loss on their faces.

"No much, a possible witness who saw possible suspect fleeing from the scene."

"Possible," Frank repeated.

"The witness is a homeless man who was 20 feet from the shooting, he saw the man run past him after a the fire was shot."

"Which could means that the runner could have been someone simply running from danger," Baker summarized. Frank squeezed the bridge of his nose as he slid into the rolling chair behind him. It had only been a few hours, the investigation still fresh in its start but the stress of knowing what happened was killing him. The fact that Erin's life was still in emanate danger, between her life threatening condition and the possibility of the attacker coming to finish the job Frank did not like the situation.

"What about the crime scene its self?"

"Nothing was taken, Erin's purse and Jacks Wallet and their keys and phones were at the scene, this wasn't a robbery."

"It was a planned attack, one of them or both were targeted," Frank drew out a heavy sigh. In his years as a father there were multipe times where his children were in dangers each one caused him great worry. He could only count a hand full of times when he was beyond that worry and today added on to that handful of times. He could never show it, especially not in front of the rest of the family but he felt ill.

"I have already asked for round the clock security for both of them," Gormley assured him.

"Thank you," Frank looked at them all. Each one of them held a face of sympathy with a mix of stoicism. "I am sure that the media will start to submit questions soon so we should be ready."

"Commissioner," Abigail broke in, she pointed to the window in the door where Danny was standing. "We will set up our command center here, let us know when you need anything." He nodded and looked back at Danny, it was plain as day in his expression, it wasn't good news.

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	3. Chapter 3

Thank you so much for your reviews!

A quick mention;MayaTrinitySky- i 100% agree with you, there are never enough Erin story lines and when they are they are short and quickly resolved.

I hope to keep this story update a little better, i got lucky this week because im off of work. I appreciate you all and all the love you give this story. If you have any questions or comments please let me know.

Love Layna

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBAs Frank walked up to ICU room 3418 he let out a heavy sigh. Peering in he saw his father standing behind Nicki, he rubbed small circles on her back as she sat bedside to her father. If he could use one word to describe Nicki's current state, it would be drained; her face paper white with only the puffy redness of her swollen eyes to give off any color.

"So they give him 24 hours," Frank confirmed as he turned to his son.

"They are going to check on him every two hours to monitor his state but they said he probably won't make it through the night." Danny stood grimly against the door frame. He would be the first to admit that while Erin and Jack were married he did not have the greatest opinion of the man. Maybe it was the fact that the Jack had save Erin once, or maybe it was the loss of Linda that had softened his outlook; one thing for sure, he needed Jack to live.

"Okay, did we get a hold of his brother?"

"Yeah, he's flying up on a red eye, sucks that their 14 years of not speaking is going to be broken up solely because Jack might not make it."

"It is a sad thing, but in the slight possibility that he does pull through they have a second chance."

"I hope for their sake everything goes fine over the next 24 hours." Jack looked terrible to say the least; Danny wished that he had Linda with him to explain the medical terminology that the surgeon had poured out to them but instead he was lost. What he could pick out was that the bullet to Jack's chest had hit his lung which is why a large tube was poking out of his side. Another tube was down his throat to protect the airway because he was not doing that himself; in fact, Jack had been without oxygen for too long and another medical term had brought on fear to the Reagan family. Hypoxia; it was not a minor case, with the amount of time Jack was without the more possibility there was of brain damage. The list continued with blood loss and a bullet lodged too close to the spinal cord.

"Let's pray for these next 24 hours, I'll sit with Nicki to give pop a break."

"We will let you know as soon as Erin's out."

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Jamie slowly opened his eyes, the sudden surge of sharp pains shot up his back; sleeping in a hospital waiting room chair was painful. He looked around the room, a room with no windows left the room dark but the soft light that shown through the door was enough to cast a light on the others. Jack and Sean had curled up next to each other, Danny on the other side of Sean with his head on his sons shoulder. Henry had his coat sprawled across him, his head flung back and mouth wide open as he let out a heavy snore. Then there was Eddie, she had her head gently laid on Jamie's chest, she too had covered herself with her coat for warmth. Jamie carefully lifted his right arm up and strained his eyes to see the time on his watch; it was already 7am. He carefully propped Eddie up against the back the chair, laying his sweater under her head for a makeshift pillow.

When he stood up his body ached but it felt better than having the armrest stabbing his back. He carefully opened the door before sliding his way out of the waiting room. The florescent lights of the hospital blinded him, squinting to see he made his way to the nurses' station. A portly woman, probably between the ages of 25-30 sat behind the desk. Her name badge read, "Dee."

"Excuse me," He had not realized his voice would come out so scratch but what was he to do he had just woken up.

"Hello," The woman wore a tremendous smile that flashed her pearly whites, which glistened under the fluorescents.

"I was wondering if Erin Reagan was out of surgery." She brought her smile to a gentler one and began typing on her computer.

"Looks like they are bringing her to recovery which means someone should be in to see you."

"Thank you so much."

"If you or your family need anything please let me know."

"Thank you again." He walked away and back towards the waiting room and just as Dee had said a surgeon met him at the door.

"Are you here about Erin," He quickly asked.

"Yes, are you family?"

"I'm her younger brother," he confirmed. The doctor looked past him into the room at the rest of the family who were fast asleep.

"Do you want anyone else with you, or shall we go somewhere a little more private?"

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"Eddie…Eddie," Eddie did not appreciate the sudden shaking of her shoulder but she opened her eyes never the less to see Danny standing over her. He looked disheveled; hair sprouted in opposite directions, a thin white line outlined the trace of drool that he had tried to wipe off and his voice was gravelly. She slowly sat up and stretched out in hopes to un-kink any knots she had from sleeping in such a horrible position.

"Yeah," She squeaked out between stretches.

"Where is Jamie?" She looked to her right to see the chair vacant.

"He was here when I fell asleep, maybe he went to go check on your dad and Nicki," She suggested.

"I was hoping he would have heard something by now, I'm going to go check in Jacks room."

"Want me to come with you?"

"You don't have to, sorry to wake you." He dismissed himself. She was awake now anyway, in dire need of coffee. She checked the time 7:10, she had only gotten two hours of sleep. She stood; wobbling for a moment as he left foot was asleep. She looked back at Henry, Jack and Sean only to see them sleeping deeply; she abandoned the thought of asking them if they wanted coffee. As she stepped out of the room, she was hit with light, blinking though it she looked around it at the flow of hospital. A couple of nurses walked by her, their scrubs indicated they were nursing students. She contemplated asking them for directions but they were deep in conversation.

"Eddie," She turned around immediately to the calling of her name.

"There you are, Danny was looking for you." He looked completely lost, not like himself; he had not made eye contact with her.

"I just talked to the surgeon, where is Danny."

"In Jack's room," She quickly replied. She grabbed his arm as he tried to walk away. "Jamie, what did they say?"

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Nicki sat vigil by her father's bedside; she had lost count of how long she had been sitting there but she was exhausted. She didn't dare close her eyes, any minute he could slip away and that would kill her knowing that she wasn't there holding his hand, telling him everything was okay. She did not want to accept that he would die but with each passing hour, she could feel out that he was not doing well. Her chin rested against the edge of the bed, she watched as his chest rose and fell to the rhythm of the ventilator. She had been here before; praying by his bedside to wake up, last time was just as terrifying but now it wasn't only him in danger it was her mother as well.

She glanced back to the small armchair by the window; her grandfather had nodded off maybe an hour ago. This left her alone in thoughts with the only the ventilator clicks and the high pitch beep of the main monitor that showed his steady heart rate. She tried to think back at the last conversation with him. It was maybe two days ago; she had been trying to finish her final papers and study for exams that now were not so important. She remembered her asking what was happening for Christmas, her usual plans consisted of splitting the holiday, Christmas Eve with him, Christmas Day with her mother. It was a huge downfall of divorced parents, everyone would tell you that it was two Christmases, more gifts but all it really was is being pulled between. She look hold of her father's hand, it had been wrapped in a thin layer of gauze to hide his battle wounds. His fingernails had blood lining the underside of the nails, he had put up a fight which made her proud. He was not married to Erin but he would fight for her any day.

"Nicki," Her head shot up at her uncle calling her. "Have you seen Jamie?"

"No, why have you heard something about my mom," Her heart sank when he shook his head. She laid her head back down and continued to look at the rise and fall of her Dad's chest only to once again look away when Jamie and Eddie walked in. "What's wrong," She knew instantly that something wasn't right. She wanted to brace herself for the worst but she did not know how to.

"I just talked to Erin's surgeon," He took Eddie's hand in his and gave a tight squeeze. "She was shot three times, once to the shoulder, this nicked her brachial artery, the other to her lower abdomen, they had to take out her spleen and then the last one is…" He stopped short and looked Eddie for help.

"It's broken itself up on impact, during surgery she has a lot of excess fluids that were drained but it was because her pericardium was pierced by half the bullet, the other half has lodged itself in the left ventricle of her heart."

"I'm sorry I missed my anatomy class at the academy what does that mean, I mean obviously having a bullet lodged in her heart isn't good."

"She has lost a lot of blood, they pumped her full during surgery and not while she's in recovery but her heart isn't keeping up," Jamie elaborated

"So why don't they just take out the bullet them?" Nicki was overwhelmed for sure.

"With the amount of blood loss and the strain on her body she needs to recover before they can perform an open heart surgery."

"For how long," Nicki cried.

"She has to stay stable for their allotted time and then they will take her back in, until then she is going to the cardiac ICU."

"Which is where?"

"One floor up, they should move her up within the hour." Nicki looked back at her father, his life so fragile right now.

"What are they saying about mom," Nick asked pulling her gaze back to Eddie and Jamie.

"They hope to stabilize her within the hour and give her at least four hours rest before they can go back."

"And if they can't, what are we talking about; will she make it through the night?"

"She needs the surgery, there is not debating it."

"So I may lose them both tonight," She concluded. The room was silent as Nicki retreated back to her chair.

"They are strong…"

"That doesn't mean a thing, they are strong but a bullet to the chest…" She had never raised her voice to her family like she was now. "I have to somehow prepare myself to losing both parents, on the same night because some psycho needed cash." Frank had not told her that her parents were a target, this was not the place nor the time for that.

"Nick," Jamie tried to place a hand on her shoulder but she yanked away.

"I just need to be alone for a minute, please; I need to process this."

"Okay," Frank nodded in agreement. He ushered the others out before taking one last glance of Nicki who refused to make eye contact. She couldn't, if she did then he would insist he stay so instead he closed the door behind him. In an millisecond Nicki went from dry eyes to streams running down her face. She took her father's hand again and pleaded with him.

"Please Dad; hang on, I need you."


	4. Chapter 4

Hello Blue blood fans, I am so sorry that this has taken me so long to update but hopefully I can make things right with this chapter. Please read and review and let me know what you think! Love Layna

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Nicki was exhausted, all this waiting was draining everything out of her. She had sat by her mother's bedside hoping and praying that even being by her would some how make her open her eyes. Obviously this was not this case and instead she sat in the plastic hospital chair gripping her mothers hand, her fingers on her wrist to reassure her that feeling the pulse meant she was alive. Her grandfather had left to conference with his team, her great grandfather had wandered down to the cafeteria and her uncles were in and out. By now the news had spread of who had been attacked and now the whole family was dealing with the texts and calls. Nicki had silenced her phone, given it to her grandfather and told him not to answer it. It was too much seeing all over her friends overloading her with questions, she wanted her focus to remain on her parents.

"Hey Kiddo," Nicki looked up and found Henry walking in with two trays of food. Ranging from Jell-O to a couple of slices of pizza. "I figured you could use something to eat."

"Thanks gramps but I'm not feeling too hungry," She gave him a fake smile before returning her gaze to her mother.

"Well I'm pretty sure somewhere respecting your elders is a rule so eat," He pushed the tray over to her and she hesitantly took a bite of the pizza.

"I can't begin to imagine what this is like for you," He started. "I am just as terrified for her as you, but I know you worry about them both constantly."

"This doesn't seem fair, why would someone do this, I mean I have no answers and I think that's the most frustrating part."

"We will get them."

"I just keep thinking of ways this could have been avoided."

"You can't focus on that right now, it won't do you any good."

"Maybe you're right but it beats just waiting here watching them get worse." She pushed her food aside and stood up. "I think I need some air."

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Frank sat at the table deep in thought as he took in the information that Baker was reading to him. The crime scene report from both the officers and CSU, outlining the grim details of his daughter and ex son in laws attack. The whole thing made him sick to his stomach, but he still kept his famous stoic face as he somehow saw the scene before him. Abigail paused and looked to Garrett, she wasn't sure she should continue.

"Frank, do you want to take a minute?"

"They had a witness." Frank ignored the question.

"Yes," Garrett answered.

"Where are we with suspects?" Gormley looked at his two colleagues before reading off of his paperwork.

"Both Jack and Erin have a list of people of people they have not made nice with."

"Given their jobs and the people they put away I can see that."

"Martinez and Fletcher are combing through, cutting out the impossible suspects." Frank nodded, he motioned to Abigail to hand him the file in her hand. She didn't hand it to him immediately, the crime scene photos were not something that she wanted him to see but he gave her a look of persistence and she handed it over.

"Sir, would you like us to give you a minute?"

"That would be appreciated Baker, thank you." He waited until the door closed behind them before, with a slight delay he let himself turn over the top half of the Manila folder. The written details of what they had so far lay on the top of the report. They had found the weapon about half way down the trails inside a garbage can, the serial number scraped off and any trace of fingerprints wiped clean. Then a witness report followed, a homeless man who had been walking alone. He had detailed in how Erin was shot and how it seemed that she may have been behind Jack. Frank never really enjoyed Jack, he thought the only person who gave him a chance was Mary and even with the judgement of all the Reagan men Jack still showed respect for them. Jack had shown his heroics in one simple line, "male victim blocked female victim," it was hard to read but it was reassuring to him that if Jack did wake up he was worthy of his respect and proved to Frank that perhaps they hadn't given him a good chance.

Once Jack was down it said that Erin tried to run to his aid and that she had pleaded for him to stop but the man shot her instead. Frank shut the folder closed with force, his stomach twisted as his mind ran over the details. In all his years as an officer it wasn't hard to see through the eyes of a victim. He sucked in a breath before reopening the folder and flipping to the section of crime scene photos. There it was; the photos had been taken during the sunrise on NYC. The gray paved path that they had been coated with blood, he wasn't sure who had lost more or if it had been equal amounts but there was a lot of it. He could see remnants of gauze and other medical supplies sprinkled around, the paramedics had made it there in good time, any later and Nicki would be parentless. Frank spotted a small detail, one that he was sure his detectives noticed; it hit him hard and he could feel the anger bubble in his stomach. A golden locket lay in the mix of blood, one that he remembered going with Mary to get, the locket that Mary had given to her daughter on her sixteenth birthday. It was a symbol of how no matter what happened in the world that she would always be there for her and she was there that night with her, probably with her now.

Frank closed the folder again and slid it to the middle of the conference table. He swung the door open and ignored Garrett and Abigail as they asked if he was alright. They didn't follow him as he walked to the elevator and he didn't meet their eyes as the doors closed. Three seconds and he was on Erin's floor; with great stride he made it to Erin's room, it was empty and that is just what he wanted. He sat beside her and took her hand looking up towards the ceiling with tears in his eyes he finally spoke. "Please watch over our daughter Mary, don't let her die."

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When Jamie didn't find Nicki or his grandfather in Erin's room, he decided to try Jack's room. He carried with him bags from Della's diner, hopeful he could get them to eat something. The elevator doors opened, and he started his way down the hallway, half way down the hall he heard the commotion and it wasn't until a nurse ran into him, not even looking back to apologize before he knew where it was coming from. It was Jack's room, he hadn't been up there more than once, but he could tell by the screams of Nicki. He abandoned his bags and followed after the nurse.

"No please, don't let him die," Nicki pleaded as a nurse tried to usher her out. Tears streamed down her face and she shook in fear as she tried to push against the nurse to get back inside.

"Honey, we will do everything we can, but you have to stay out here."

"Please don't let my dad die," She repeated again. The nurse nodded and returned to the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Nic," Jamie slowly approached. She didn't say another word, instead she collapsed into him; he wrapped his arms around her as he stared through the glass door, through the slots of the blinds he could see a nurse by Jack's side roughly doing compressions. He himself didn't know what to do, should he bring Nicki away from the room or stay where they were. She sobbed into him, scared and unsure herself. The last time she was in this situation with her dad she had her mother there to tell her it was all going to be alright but now… now she wasn't there. They had told her that the odds were not great for him making it through the night and this right here seemed to her like the end. She couldn't lose him, they hadn't been as close as she wished they would have been, she wanted to tell him so many things, he still had so many things to see her do. He was supposed to be there when she graduated from college, then from the academy, he had to be there when she brought a boy over to meet him and then when she found the right one, he was supposed to walk her down the aisle. Ten minutes felt like ten years as they waited for someone to come out of that room. A doctor, maybe a few years older than Jamie walked out with a nurse behind him. Nicki released her Uncle Jamie and turned to them but not before grabbing hold of her Uncle's father.

"You are his daughter," the doctor asked. Nicki slowly nodded the anticipation killing her.

"We were able to get him back, but there was some bleeding in his belly, we just stabilized him, we need him up in surgery."

"Okay… uh is he going to make it through that." She was confused, her emotions were everywhere as she tried to figure out what was happening.

"It's risky especially in his condition, we need to find the source of his bleeding, but surgery now has a high fatality rate."

"So he could die in surgery but if doesn't get the surgery he dies anyway." Jamie too was confused as he listened to the doctor lay out what needed to happen.

"Ms. Boyle, you are the only family member he has right now, you are of age to make the decision, but time is of the essence."

"Uhm… yeah if he needs the surgery take him up." As soon as he got the go ahead he motioned to the others in the room who pushed Jack's stretcher out. One nurse held an ambu bag giving Jack's lungs air. Nicki ran after them, Jamie behind her as they moved quickly down the hall and into the patient elevators. The doors shut and Nicki let out a shaky breath, turning to Jamie with tears welling up in her eyes again. "Did I just make the right decision?"

"Yes, you did good Nicki," He pulled her in again and gave her a hug as she cried again, now it was a waiting game.


	5. Chapter 5

"They just took Erin in," Henry reported. He sat beside his son in the waiting room, occupied by rest of the Reagan clan. It was as if they were back to square one, when they first arrived they were just waiting for any snippet of news. "I see she finally fell asleep." Frank looked down at Nicki who was sleeping across three chairs next to him.

"Its been a trying two days, she is drained."

"Completely, I find I'm at a loss of words for her."

"All she needs is us right here and you are doing a great job doing just that Pop." Henry nodded but was not convinced with himself that he had done the best he could, no words of wisdom was going to fix. He scanned the room, it was just like the first night with Danny and the boys huddled together sleeping and Jamie pacing the floor. Frank looked at his watch; Jack had been in surgery just over the three-hour mark, an exploratory surgery as the surgeon had explained it. All of them felt helpless, with Erin and Jack's life hanging by a thread it was hard to think positive. All he could think to do was pray, pray that Betty, Mary, Joe, and Linda were watching over them and guiding them back.

"Have they gotten anywhere in the investigation," Jamie finally tired himself out from wearing a trail in the floor and sat beside his grandfather.

"They have four suspect, two match the witness's description, they are working on a line up."

"Can I ask who?"

"The two that they seem to like for the attack are linked through Erin, past convictions."

"Recent releases," Henry inquired.

"Correct, they are working on checking times and means and their alibis." The two detectives on were working day and night to nail this creep and for that Frank was grateful but it didn't change the fact that his daughter was fighting for her life, it didn't change the fact that he was watching as another child fought for their life. He just prayed that it wouldn't end up like Joe and he wouldn't have to bury her in the cemetery next to his wife and mother.

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"Hey," Eddie greeted Jamie with a kiss after meeting him in the lobby. Her hands were full, a bag of bagels and two trays of coffee cup carriers. Jamie took over one of the carriers and the bag, she looped her arm through his. "Any updates?"

"They came out to update us on Jack, his surgery was a little trickier, his bleed turned out to be a burst artery, so the repair is extensive."

"How is Nicki?"

"Asleep right now, she missed the update and maybe its for the best, she's a mess."

"I would be too, but she is so lucky that she has all of you."

"We are all trying to be strong… just the thought of losing her…"

"You can't think like that, they have some of the best doctors here, taking care of Erin and Jack, they are in good hands."

"That's what I thought about Joe… he died here." He dropped his head, hiding his pained expression. She held on to his arm a little tighter as they stood on the elevator, her head leaning against his shoulder.

"Erin is one strong woman, I have admired that about her since day one of meeting her."

"She really is… she had to be with three brothers."

"She still has to be with two, I know how annoyed she gets when Danny or you ask a 'favor' of her." She leaned in to see the smallest smile grace his face. "She is a fighter, always has been always will be." Jamie nodded, kissed her on the forehead before laying his head on top of hers. The elevator let out its little ding and the doors opened, back to the waiting room.

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Three hours of waiting and the gang still sat in the waiting room chairs, eyes glued to the door in hopes that a stare would conjure up the appearance of a surgeon with news. Whomever said that no news was good news surely hadn't dealt with such anxiety as they all were experiencing now. Each time the door opened they were ready to jump up from their chairs, imagine how hard it was when they received the slew of visitors. Abigail, Garrett and Gormley were the most frequent, providing them with updates to the case but they weren't the only ones. Jack's brother arrived finally; Nicki had refused to speak to him so now he sat silently in the corner. Baez had stopped by with food and drinks making sure that her partner and his family were okay before she went back to work. A lot of Erin's colleagues came to visit, her boss included all of whom offered up anything that the family needed, most of them left but it was Erin's friend Anthony who stayed behind. Now they all sat in the room together, almost completely silent; some flipping through outdated magazines, some half asleep and the others with their gaze focused on the door.

Eddie who sat with a magazine in hand flipped mindlessly through, her attention not on the article but rather her fiancé who was fighting off sleep. She was sure that he hadn't slept since the night Erin had come in. Now, his head lobbed from one side to the other as he jolted himself awake every time it fell. She reached over and interlocked her fingers into his giving him a reassuring smile and a tight squeeze. He returned the gesture but his glance at her was soon broken by the entrance of a surgeon. All of them leaped from their chairs, Nicki front and center.

"Erin's surgery went well, we extracted the bullet, no complications." A collective sigh of relief sounded through the small room.

"Where is she now?"

"She is being moved out of recovery as we speak, we are moving her to the ICU until she is stable enough to be brought down to a floor."

"Can I see her," Nicki asked.

"Of course, I can take two at a time." Nicki looked back to her grandfather who nodded.

"We will stay here Nicki, if we get any updates about your dad, we will come let you know," Danny assured her.

"Thank you," She anxiously followed the surgeon out of the waiting room with Frank right behind her. The door shut carefully behind them leaving the rest of the Reagans, Anthony alone with a very hesitant. Up until now he had done his best to avoid them after Nicki's quick rejection, but he could feel all the quick glances in his direction.

"My fight with him seems silly now," He wrung his hands leaving red marks.

"I'm sure if Jack knew you were here, he would be glad," Henry, who was always the voice of reason responded in hopes to put the man at ease.

"Not sure that's true after all the things we said."

"I mean Jamie and I say some pretty intense things to each other, but we always find our way back through our stubbornness to apologize."

"That's the thing about Family, no matter what there is always space to correct what is wrong, you are being here today is enough." The Reagan clan had met James Boyle once before, as best man on Erin and Jack's wedding day. They seemed close but in just eight years Jack began to speak less and less about him until one day Erin let it spill that they were no longer on speaking terms. No further details were given about they why and they never intended to stir that pot.

"I suppose you're right, I just hope its not too late for me."

"The best surgeons are with him and I know anything about your brother its that he is one tough son of a bitch," Anthony reminded him.

"Stubborn too, no way in hell he is going to listen to the odds a doctor gives him," Danny added.

"That is true I think I have the most stubborn brother in the world," he scoffed.

"That's debatable," Jamie looked to Danny who rolled his eyes.

"I know you all had trouble getting to know Jack, liking him but he is the best man I know."

"He protected our sister on more than this occasion, I think I speak for all of us when we say he has our respect."

"Always a protector; we may have come from a prestigious family, but our father was a bully and he, being the eldest would always defend me." He stood from his chair and paced the floor. "Always took the brunt of the blame, always making sure he covered up for me and made sure that I was always doing my best."

"That's an older brothers' job."

"He filled the role but those 14 years ago we started fighting because of a woman I was seeing, he thought I could do better, and I didn't agree, I told him I was sick of him controlling me." Finally, an answer that the Reagans had not known was coming to light. "I told him to leave me alone that I didn't need him and that he needed to focus on himself, his own marriage and stay away from me." He dropped his head in shame as he continued on, "I regret every word I said but I guess stubbornness runs in the family because neither of us wanted to apologize and worst of all I didn't want to admit that he was right." He played with the wedding ring on his finger, twisting it around with his thumb. "Right about that girl, and how I did better, and he wasn't there to see it."

"Well when he wakes up you can tell him about it, tell him everything you have been holding back." Danny looked at Jamie, he was glad that even when the fight seemed so horrible, he wasn't sure he could make it right it turned out okay, with both siblings. He hoped that James got that chance; Danny looked at the door and then to the clock, five hours in and still no update.

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A fresh gown had been given to Erin, covering up the bandaging from the surgery they had just preformed. She was off the ventilator which gave Nicki some hope, the had told her that she was supporting herself on her own, so it was a trial for now, instead an oxygen mask had taken its place. Frank walked back in to the room, a moment earlier he had stepped out to take a call, his return had caused Nicki to almost jump from her chair.

"Was it an update?"

"In the investigation, yes, we have caught the man behind the orchestration of the attack."

"Who?"

"It was a past case of your father's."

"I thought all the suspects were linked to my mom."

"Last minute surprise, it was a man whom your father put away."

"Put away, my father is a criminal defense attorney how did he put someone away."

"It was a man who hired him, he seems to believe your father botched a case and got him sentenced to 15 years in prison."

"I don't know if my father would do that."

"He was defending a man who had assaulted a five-year-old girl, around that time if my math is correct you were the same age."

"So, he threw the case because of me?"

"No, because of his conscience maybe, he knew his client was guilty and his case was strong, I guess he couldn't let him get away."

"So, he tried to kill my dad after all these years."

"He had just been releasing a week ago, we found evidence that he was tracking your father."

"Did he confess?"

"Detective Fletcher is a very good interrogator, pulled the confession right out."

"Good, so he goes away but it still doesn't make up for this." She looked at her mother who lay motionless in the bed aside from the steady rise and falls or her chest.

"You're right but we are getting answers, and you mother is doing better."

"What about dad?"

"I haven't gotten an update yet." Nicki wanted to be happy that the man who almost killed her mother and quite possible would be responsible for her fathers' demise was caught. She wanted it to bring her a little peace, but it didn't because her parents were still here and while her mother made some minor improvements she still wasn't out of the woods. As for her father it was up in the air, a surgery that turned complicated and had lasted five hours so far with no updates.

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Dr. Allison Williams finished charting her post- procedure note before removing her scrub cap and making her way to the waiting room. The past seven hours had been excruciating as they worked to fix a damaged artery only to have a spontaneous bleed that caused Jack Reagan to lose over half his blood volume. Some how some way they had managed to pull it off, moving the patient to the recovery wing in a stable state. This man had been through hell and back, almost meeting his maker a few times and this was just the beginning of more waiting to see if his injuries could withstand such a devastating blood loss.

She pushed the door to the waiting room open greeted by a whole room jumping to their feet, anticipation coursing through them. She searched the room for her patients 21 year old daughter but did not spot her.

"Are you family of Jack Boyle."

"I'm his brother, these are his in laws," James walked to the front of the crowd of Reagans.

"Your brother is out of surgery, but it was a very complicated surgery."

"Is he going to be okay," Sean asked.

"It's a waiting game, he lost a lot of blood, we were feeding it into him, but he lost it just as fast, for now we have to make sure his body can handle the trauma of the burst artery and spontaneous bleed."

"They told us his odds were bad the first time," Danny spoke with concern.

"They told us it was a 24 hour wait and that his chances were about forty percent," Jamie added.

"Considering this they have now dropped, he is in a fight for his life, even with the bleed handled it took a toll on him, time will tell." Henry hated that saying "Only time will tell," he heard it with Betty after her stroke and then again with Joe, neither ended in their favor.

"So, we just wait it out for the night again see if he gets better."

"I hate to say this, but in your brothers' condition I suggest getting family here if you have anymore, it may be a chance for a goodbye." All at once their hearts dropped to their stomachs, a true sign that Jack may not make it.

"Can I see him," James asked. It wasn't hard to read the regret in his eyes, the glossy shimmer that showed.

"He is in recovery, but I will have a nurse show you to his room when its time."

"Thank you doctor," the woman nodded toward Henry and made her exit.

"Can we call anyone?" Jamie asked James who had fallen into a chair.

"My parents are still out of reach."

"Maybe we can try to contact the cruise line they are on," Jamie suggested.

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea, my mom will want to be here." Eddie took the initiative to walk out of the room, phone in hand to make the calls.

"Some one needs to tell Nicki," Danny reminded them.

"I'll go," Jamie offered, it was not a job he wanted but someone had to do it.

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Nicki stayed by her mother's bed side when her uncle Jamie came up, instead Frank walked out and through a closed door Nicki watched as her Uncle relayed information. From the looks of it, it wasn't good she watched as her grandfather rubbed the back of his neck and dropped his head down while Jamie talked, she could feel the nausea kick in, afraid for what was going to happen next. She quickly darted her eyes back to her mother as they looked in through the glass at her before entering the room in silence.

"Please don't say it," tears were already streaming down her face without even looking at them. "I don't want to know, I can't." she sobbed squeezing her mother's hand tightly. Both men walked over to her, Frank sat in the chair beside her and Jamie on the edge of Erin's bed. He took her hand from her mothers and gave it a light squeeze.

"Nicki," he tried to grab her attention, but she refused to look up.

"Your fathers' surgery was very tough," Jamie started.

"No," she tried to stop him from continuing.

"Nicki he made it through but its not looking good."

"Stop," Nicki yanked her hand away from her uncle and shot up heading to the farther corner of the room. Jamie looked at Frank who stood up now and inched his way closer to her.

"They aren't sure this helped him, not sure if he will make it," Frank continued. "I think you should go see him Nicki."

"He's gonna die isn't he," She sobbed swinging back around wiping the tears away.

"His chances aren't good," Jamie answered in a calm voice. Nicki let out a sob as she clung on to her grandfather, she didn't want this to be real, what kind of nightmare was this?


	6. Chapter 6

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When Nicki entered her fathers' room her stomach did a thousand summersaults, her lungs constricted, the lump in her throat formed and her eyes burned. The words of Jamie echoed in her mind as she looked at the monitor and then at the paleness of her father's skin. She thought back to the attack last year, he woke up then but what were the chances it would happen twice?

She tried to keep her focus on her dad, ignoring the man standing bedside with a look of regret and sorrow. She hadn't seen this man in fourteen years, he was practically a stranger to her. The last memory she had was when her father and him fought, the fight that started the 14 year stretch of radio silence. Now he was back for what his own self- condemnation?

"I can leave if you want Nicki," His voice was different, it had aged along with the color of his hair. She wanted so badly to kick him out but then she thought about how she herself would regret the decision herself to stop a final goodbye should it come to that.

"No, it's fine," She still kept her focus on her father, sliding a chair up and sitting down. She closed her eyes in efforts to hold back the tears. She listened to the steady beat of the monitor and the clicks of the ventilator.

"I am sorry Nicki, 14 years over a feud that shouldn't have torn the family up in the first place." Nick stayed silent, she felt as though he was apologizing to her in hopes that some how it would pass as apologizing to Jack. "I missed 14 years of your life, missed watching you grow up and getting to know you."

"You missed a lot, and the last memory I have is a bad one."

"I shouldn't have let it go this far, I should have swallowed my stubbornness and apologized the next day but I'm big headed and I didn't see myself as wrong."

"It broke him you know," She finally looked up and met the stare of the pale blue eyes of James. They were so similar to her fathers, even the crow's feet matched it was as if she was staring at her father. "After the first year he would say he wished he could make it right, but you had made your intentions clear and after his thousands of attempts of calling you he knew you had made up your mind."

"I was stupid."

"You were wrong, though it all though he loved you." She tilted her head to try to meet his eye again. "He still reminisced about your childhood and how much fun you had, I think he wanted me to remember you in a good way."

"He did?"

"Yes, I hope that brings you some sort of comfort, knowing that through everything he thought of you fondly." She didn't dare mention that though she saw her father laugh at the memories there was always a sadness in his eyes. She returned her gaze back to her father, he was unfazed by the story, she didn't know why she expected to get some sort of reaction, but she had been disappointed to see no change. As James reflected upon the information that she had just given him he thought about all the time he had lost with her, with Jack and his family. He missed milestones with Nicki and her knowing her cousins. While everyone says its never too late this was an exception.

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"Hey," Eddie leaned in the doorway of Erin's room her right foot neatly tucked behind her left ankle. She watched as Jamie lifted his head and turned his attention away from Erin who was now recovering from her second surgery.

"Hey, come on in," He patted the chair beside him which she accepted. She had heard from him during her shift of the latest update on Jack, how it wasn't looking good and Nicki wasn't handling it well as expected.

"How are you doing, have you talked to Nicki?"

"No, I'm letting her cool down, I know she's just scared."

"Yeah and you were the one that told her about… she will come around."

"I just feel bad for her, like I should be doing or saying something to her."

"You're doing what you are supposed to be doing, being here for her when she needs it most." Eddie took his hand into hers, leaning her head on his shoulder she watched as Erin lay silently on the bed. She hadn't know Erin long but she respected her and Erin had been rooting for the couple long before their feelings were made clear.

"Hey," They both looked up to see Danny with Henry behind him.

"Hey Danny, Hello Henry," Eddie greeted.

"Why don't you two go home, get some sleep," Henry suggested.

"We're okay," they both protested.

"Eddie you just got off of a shift and Jamie you just look like hell," Danny blurted out.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black," Jamie rolled his eyes.

"Pops and I will take next shift, we will go home when you get back."

"Fine but…"

"Call you if anything changes; I will don't worry." Danny pushed his brother out of the chair, seating himself in it.

"Do you want us to take the boys, maybe can just sleep at Dads."

"Yeah they should probably get some rest too." Jamie nodded in agreeance, taking the house key from his grandfather.

"Thanks Kid, see you two soon." They said their goodbyes and disappeared out of the door.

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"You two were awfully quiet on the ride here," Jamie commented as he fought with the front door lock. It had to be well past one in the morning, the streetlights illuminated the small neighborhood and gave Jamie very little light to see the lock at all. He finally defeated it and was able to push the door open and flick on some lights.

"Guess there is just a lot going on," Jack replied as he kicked his shoes off.

"I know we are all scared about Erin, but she is improving."

"We know," Sean spoke, "Its just that this is all happening so close to…"

"Mom," Jack finished his sentence.

"You feel like you can relate to Nicki huh?" Jamie sat down on the small three step perch.

"Almost, we know its not the same and neither of them are gone but even the thought of losing Aunt Erin."

"You are right its scary." Jamie ran a hand through his hair, taking a moment to think out his next point. "You lost your mom too soon, it was unfair then and its still unfair now, no one should lose a parent so abruptly."

"But it happens," Jack shrugged.

"unfortunately, and when it does it takes time to heal."

"Still waiting for it," Sean scoffed.

"But now you have empathy for Nicki because you know how this goes and it sucks but she will need you."

"How are we supposed to, she kind of shut everyone out." Jamie looked up and Eddie recalling her previous discussion with him.

"You wait until she is ready and when she needs us, she will let it be known."

"We can do that," Jack nodded. They all stood in silence for a moment, this wasn't a new thing to them, waiting on the the outcome of something terrible. Like Jamie had said the boys had empathy for Nicki much like he had for the boys when Linda died. Losing a parent was the worst part of life but to have them go long before their time was even worse. It was Sean who finally broke the silence in the room, "I miss mom."

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Danny didn't know when he fell asleep but he had definitely out lasted Henry by a few hours. He looked at the digital clock on the well, the red lights were shockingly blinding but then again he had just woken up. It was six thirty, he had slept for maybe three hours if he was lucky. He looked out the window to see that the sun was just beginning to rise, the pink and orange hue to the clouds looked like one from a painting. After a quick stretch he returned to his chair, quite to avoid waking up his grandfather who slept uncomfortably in the chair beside him.

"Morning Sis, another day and you're still being stubborn." He gave her hand a quick squeeze before reaching out for the water but he was stopped dead in his tracks. He had to do a double take of what just happened as he reached his hand out to hers again and gave it another light squeeze. He had not been mistaken; though it was weak he could feel her fingers curl around his palm in a feeble attempt to reciprocate the gesture.

"Hey, Erin can you hear me," He spoke with such excitement and volume that it woke Henry up.

"What's going on," The oldest Reagan asked groggily.

"She squeezed my hand."

"Are you sure," Henry shot up from his chair and now stood beside Danny staring down at Erin.

"It was small, but I felt it," He tried again and this time Henry witnessed as her fingers move.

"I'll go get a nurse." He ran out of the room leaving Danny behind still holding on to her.

"You did it sis, you made it come on open your eyes." The amount of excitement he had only increased as he watched her eyelids twitch. She was trying too, he could tell she was fighting to wake up. A tear slid down his cheek as he brought her hand to his cheek, he nestled it as he spoke words of encouragement.

"Your grandfather said you think she's waking up," Erin's doctor, Dr. Bostek walked in with both Henry and a nurse in tow.

"She squeezed my hand three times I felt it and her eye lids moved." He let go of Erin's hand and moved away to let the doctor in.

"Ms. Reagan can you hear me," She rubbed her knuckles against Erin's sternum to wake her; Erin let out a light groan. The doctor then pulled out a pen light and lifted Erin's eye lid, she flashed the light in quick bursts to see a reaction. Erin pulled away and tried to bring a weak hand up in defense. It took another moment or two before her eyes opened again, this time with no assistance. Through slivered cracks she could see a blur, outlines soon coming into play as her eyes focused.

"Welcome back Ms. Reagan, you're in a hospital, your brother and grandfather are here," Dr. Bostek announced. Danny and Henry took their que and moved in to their old positions. Henry took her hand this time giving her a teary smile.

"You had us so worried Erin," He kissed the back of her hand, holding it close to him. She wanted to speak but her body was so weak that even her vocal cords refused to work.

"Everything is going to be okay Erin," Henry reassured her. He could see her confusion, she had no idea what was going on, either she would piece it together she or they would have to tell her but all that mattered right now was that she was awake.


	7. Chapter 7

She was awake, that was what mattered right now; to see Nicki just hearing her mother mutter a few words in her weakened state was music to her ears. She needed this small victory; she knew that though her mother was not out of the woods, but she had a little hope back. She held Erin's hand as they sat in silence, every so often she would look over to make sure she was still with her and flash her a smile. Seeing her return the gesture made her heart melt, her emotions roll through her as she finally had a small bit of peace.

Erin had been awake for exactly 14 hours with no knowledge of why she was there, no recollection of what had happened a few days prior. Nicki didn't tell her, she worked hard to avoid the question and when it did come up, she quickly switched the topic. The problem was that her mother wasn't stupid, she was starting to pick on the fact she hadn't been given a straight answer. Danny, who had been in and out of the room in a constant pattern had warned her about bringing up the topic of her father's status while her mother was in such a state but in her mind to hold that information from her when he very well could pass seemed wrong.

"Nicki," Erin's voice was still soft, her full energy had yet to return. "What's on your mind." Nicki took a moment to meet her mother's gaze; when she was younger lying about things came easy but right now it felt like the words were caught in her throat.

"It's been a rough few days without you," She gave a light squeeze. Erin inched over slightly and patted the small space bedside her. Nicki didn't hesitate, she gently laid beside her other before retaking her mothers hand in her own. She laid her head on her mother's shoulder careful not to cause any interference with her incisions. When she was little, anytime she was upset or scared it could be made right by a simple cuddle with her mother, but this was not one of them. She felt the knot in her throat grow larger as she tried to hold in her tears.

"I'm okay, everything is going to be okay," Erin tried to sooth her and Nicki really wished that everything would be okay. She carefully wrapped her arms around Erin's neck and buried her face into her shoulder. A small knock made Nicki suddenly release her mother and quickly wipe the tears from her face. Jamie stood in the doorway, he looked at Nicki trying to signal her to let her know they had to talk.

"You can come in Jamie, we wont bite," Erin joked. She was not able to read the room, so Jamie just gave her a small chuckle and walked in. He quickly gave his sister a kiss on the forehead and looked to Nicki yet again.

"I just came to see if Nicki had eaten yet, we have had to remind her." Erin now looked at Nicki who shook her head.

"Go Nicki, I'll be here when you get back." She wiped away a few tears from her daughters face and encouraged her to go with Jamie. Hesitantly, Nicki followed, not only because she didn't want to leave her mother, but something told her that she wasn't going to like what he had to say.

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Jamie placed the cafeteria try down at the table, sitting next to Nicki with Frank and James sitting across from them both. Each one of them letting out a heavy sigh, not sure where to start.

"How's your mother?" James asked, he twisted his cup with anxiety.

"Fine, "She knew that this short talk wasn't going to get them anywhere. "What's wrong with Dad?" She watched as each of the men looked at each other but ultimately it was Frank who spoke.

"As you know your dad isn't doing well," Hearing that again was like getting her heart ripped out, she nodded in agreeance. "The surgeon just spoke to your uncle."

"They said that they want to try to go in again while Jack has become a little more stable," James informed.

"To repair the damage, wont that be risky?"

"That's why we wanted to talk to you, so you understood the risks and benefits," Frank replied.

"He could die," She knew what they were talking about.

"The surgery is risky, there is a good percent that he won't make it off the table."

"But if we don't, he won't make it," Nicki inquired.

"Correct." Jamie took his nieces hand to guide her attention to him.

"This decision is going to be tough, and unfortunately because you are his next of kin it has to come from you." She began to feel panicked; her cheeks were flushed, and her heartbeat quickened.

"I don't… I don't know."

"We understand this is difficult and we will do our best to guide you, we can talk it out right now."

"How soon do they need my decision?"

"Sooner rather than later, the quicker its done the better the chances." Her head spun thinking through the outcome of either of her decisions, if she didn't do the surgery he would die maybe tonight maybe in a week, they didn't know. Then she had the option of the surgery, she could lose him on the table, or he could recover from this.

"They have to do the surgery, I mean he could make it right, it's the better option."

"It is but the risk is high."

"How high?"

"the surgery has an 87% mortality rate," Frank broke the news quick, like ripping off a band-aid.

"We have to at least try, if he dies at least we can say that we tried." She felt sick to her stomach, either way she didn't see a win, with his odds so low already she didn't see a good outcome.

"Okay, we can go upstairs, me and you and we can tell them we want to go head," Frank spoke calmly trying to put her mind at ease but honestly, she didn't see that happening.

"How soon would they take him?"

"As soon as an OR is opened."

Nicki thought for a moment before looking at her Grandfather then to Jamie, "Mom needs to know."

"Nicki," Frank tried to protest.

"She has to know, if she doesn't then I don't think she will be able to forgive herself for not saying goodbye should it come to that." Frank and Jamie looked at each other with uncertainty, "Please."

"I'll tell her," Jamie volunteered. "Go be with your dad, I think Danny is on his way we will do it together." They stood up from their chairs, Nicki threw herself at Jamie, wrapping him in grand hug.

"Thank you," She cried.

"Anything for you kiddo." She followed her Grandfather and Uncle James out of the cafeteria, each step became heavier as if she were stuck in a tar pit.

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Danny had argued with Jamie for ten minutes outside of his sisters' room before finally being told that this needed to happen. Eddie and Sean had opted to go to the little café on the first floor to give them time. Danny stood in the doorway, undecided on whether he was okay with breaking the news to his still healing sister. Ultimately, he followed Jamie in and stood silent at the foot of Erin's bed while Jamie sat on the edge of her bed. Carefully he woke her up and for a moment she was confused but when she saw them both a smile graced her face.

"Hey," She tried to sit up higher in her bed, with the aid of Jamie. "Where's Nicki?"

"Erin, we have to talk," Danny moved to chair beside them both.

"Okay," She spoke a little nervously.

"You need to know why you are here," Danny still not 100% behind this informed her.

"I was attacked, someone shot me, did they find out who?"

"Yes, but that's not what we mean," Jamie answered, he looked to Danny, it was now or never. Jamie took his sisters hand like he had with Nicki earlier and gave her a weary look. "You weren't alone when you were attacked."

"I wasn't?"

"No, it was late, and you were taking a walk after dinner," Danny continued. Erin could start to feel the memories piece together.

"Jack," Her stomach dropped when Jamie nodded to confirm. "Is he…" She felt the tears burning in her eyes as nausea took over.

"No, but he's not doing well, and the surgeons want to take him back to surgery."

"That's were Nicki is," She didn't need an answer she was trying to process it all.

"The surgery is very risky."

"He could die?"

"Yes, but without the surgery he will die." Erin let go of Jamie's hand bring both of hers to her face as she tried to run through what the were saying. Danny became increasingly concerned as Erin began to panic, his eyes kept darting to the monitor beside her. Her heartrate had begun to increase as she started to panic. "I need to see him," She tried to move out of the bed only to be restricted due to her surgical incision.

"Hey, Erin you are still recovering," Danny protested.

"I don't care, I need to see him." She batted away Jamie who was trying his best to keep her from moving. It didn't take much to get her to stop, she was still weak from her surgery. With the struggle to fight leaning on Jamie and Danny's side she gave up and instead fell into Jamie and cried, cried until her lungs hurt. Was this her fault, was Jack going to die because of her?

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After Jamie and Danny had consoled Erin as best, they could Nicki came down. The had taken Jack to surgery and now the two women had to wait to see what fate had in store for them. Nicki laid snuggled up against her mother, both lost in thought. The rest of the Reagan's had decided to give them their space as they both requested.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Erin apologized as she stroked her daughter's hair.

"You don't have to apologize mom, besides, I already figured something like this was happening."

"How," Erin stopped and now looked down at the top of Nicki's head in shock.

"Mom, for one I know you have been texting him and when he texts you, you kind of light up."

"Not every single time," Erin protested.

"Almost always," Nicki smirked. "And then there were the flower arrangements."

"Anyone could have sent those to me."

"Mom, come on three of the same flowers," Nicki scoffed. "Besides Dad is one of the only people who know that your favorite flowers together are a lily and roses."

"Super sleuth," Erin teased. She carefully wrapped her arms around her daughter as she remembered why they were talking of Jack in the first place.

"You know most kids of divorce go through parents reuniting after so many years."

"Sometimes it just happens."

"He'll make it mom, he has to… for us."

"And for us he will."

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I am so sorry this took so long to update, lately I have just not been feeling the writing bug. I thought of course they deserve an update so I hope you enjoy and ill try to keep my updates closer. Thank you ~Love Layna


	8. Chapter 8

Nicki leaned her head atop her mothers as she laid cradled up against her. Erin had since fallen asleep, the worry of Jack's surgical outcome had tired her out and currently lay heavily on Nicki's mind. Both women had requested to be alone; to be honest Nicki saw it helping out the rest of the family more than them. All of them had spent so much time being by her side that they had neglected their own needs of sleep. Nicki sleepily looked over at the clock, it was now hour four of her father forgoing the surgery. The room was covered in nights dark cloak and the only sounds were the machines in the room and the steady breathing of Erin.

Nicki looked down at her mother, she looked peaceful for the time being. She knew that being so quick to tell her the bad news wasn't the right thing to do but she couldn't keep her out of the dark. Before she had fallen asleep, she had asked if Nicki had any indication that Jack and she were together. It took a moment, but she said yes, that she approved and that all she wanted was her happiness. She worried that the happiness she wished for her wasn't going to happen, that if her father died her mother would blame herself. She had read about people who suffered from survivors' guilt, the sensation that it should have been you and she prayed that this wouldn't happen. She couldn't watch her mother go through it and honestly, she didn't think she'd have the strength to help her through it. She would never say or feel that her mother had anything to do with what could quite possibly be her father's demise. It made her sick to think about, the fact that she may have to go through life without him.

"Nicki," a nurse from the unit quietly made her way in.

"Hi Haley," Nicki whispered careful not to disturb her mother.

"I just came to check her vitals," Haley had always offered a kind smile throughout the duration of her mothers stay, she was a 62-year-old nurse who had comforted her most nights while she had sat waiting for Erin to open her eyes. "Do you want me to get you a cot, I know I keep asking but…"

"That's alright Haley, I'm alright," Nicki responded softly. She watched as Haley went over to check the monitors. "Everything okay?"

"She seems to have the beginnings of a fever."

"That's not good right," Nicki began to feel the panic again.

"Her body is recovering, it's a heavy fight," Haley explained. "I am going to talk with the doctors, she probably needs some antibiotics." Another trait that Nicki admired, the ability to calm her and Haley was extremely gifted at it. Nicki laid her head back to its original resting place once Haley left, slowly her eyelids became increasingly heavy until finally she lost her battle to stay awake.

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She didn't know how long she was asleep, though the bigger question was how she had been moved from her mother's side to a cot. She woke up to the soft soothing voice of Haley who lightly shook her shoulder. She slowly sat up and looked at the clock, it was three in the morning, she guessed she had been out of it for at two hours.

"What's going on, is it mom," She asked sitting up and looking over to her mother peacefully sleeping.

"No, she's fine dolly, I just came to talk to you about your dad." Nicki was not fully awake, she scanned Haley's face to try to get a read on the news, but the room was far too dark.

"Is he okay?"

Haley looked over to Erin who was still soundly sleeping, "Come on honey, let's talk outside." Nicki wanted to protest but she also knew that if the news was bad, she didn't want to wake her mother up with it. She followed Haley to the hallway, walking silently to the nurse's station, out of earshot of her mother's room. The usual smile graced Haley's face as she took her seat behind the station, offering Nicki the chair across from her. "I'm going to start off by saying your father made it through surgery." Nicki was filled with overwhelming joy with the news that her father had fought his way through an intensive surgery with a low odds outcome. "Not to say it was all smooth sailing but from what Dr. Jacobs said, he made it and its going to be a long wait but if he does well it will be a long recovery."

"He made it," That was the extent of what she heard, he made it, he was alive.

"Do you want to see him," Haley knew that Dr. Jacobs would fill her in on the main points but for now what she needed to hear was that Jack was alive.

"Yes, please," Nicki didn't hesitate at the offer. Haley stood up told her head nurse she was taking a break before leading Nicki to the elevator. Out of the corner of her eye, Haley could see the nerves running through Nicki with each passing second.

"He made it through the worst part," Haley reminded her. Nicki took a deep breath and nodded in response, still keeping her eyes fixed on the silver doors. A small jolt and light ding let them know they were at their desired floor. She knew her way but now she felt cemented in her spot, not sure if this was real or if she was still sleeping and dreaming. "Come on," Haley offered her arm which Nicki slowly took. She was ushered to the room where her father laid, he was still on a ventilator which Haley had said was still necessary, "Think of it as him getting a break so he can heal." Nicki released Haley's arm and slowly made her way over to her father.

"I'm going to give you some time," She slowly backed out leaving Nicki alone with Jack. Placing a hand on his cheek, she felt the prickliness of his growing beard; she could remember when she was little, and he would hold her feeling the same prickliness against her cheek.

"You did it Dad," She cried. She smiled at him, something she hadn't done since the first day here. "Keep fighting, you've made it this far, keep fighting." It was a plea at this point she didn't want to have her hope up only to be disappointed and crushed again. He was a fighter for sure, with a family waiting she knew why, she just hoped he was going to pull through. She cling to the words of Haley, "He made it through the worst part."

"Keep going Dad, come back to us."

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When Erin woke up it was midafternoon, the sun peaked through the cloudy skies as if a storm had just passed. The last thing she remembered was Nicki laying beside her and now she was gone. She didn't have to wonder too much on where she could have possibly gone, she knew it had something to do with Jack, the question was did she leave for good or bad news?

"Glad to see you awake," She looked to the doorway and watched as Jamie and Eddie walk in. Since no flowers were allowed in the ICU, Erin's room was filled with cards which Eddie added to with another card from Anthony.

"Where's Nicki," She asked still in her groggy medicine induced state. Jamie smiled at Eddie before sitting on the edge of the hospital bed.

"With Jack, he made it through surgery." Erin let out a happy sob, tears instantly falling down her face. As badly as she wanted to wrap Jamie in a hug of relief her recent surgery had restricted her movements.

"We just came back from checking on her, she said she would be down later," Eddie added.

"I thought it would be bad news," Erin wiped away her tears only to have her face wetted with new ones.

"He made it, Nicki said its going to be a wait and see but he made it through the hard part."

"Thank God, how is Nicki doing?"

"Given what has happened I think she is finally calm," Eddie answered.

"She felt bad leaving you she's just waiting for James and then she will be down," Jamie received a whack from Eddie at the mention of the name.

"James," Erin repeated, "as in James Boyle?"

"That would be the one," Jamie knew he had messed up.

"I cannot believe he showed up," She let out a shocked laugh.

"Life changing moments happen to bring family together," Eddie offered.

"After all these years, it took Jack almost dying to bring him here." She was silent for a moment before adding on, "It was about damned time."

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	9. Chapter 9

"Alright Ms. Erin, we can't stay long," Haley warned as she wheeled Erin into Jack's room. After many hours of pleading with her Erin had gotten through to Haley who agreed to take Erin to see Jack. It was a tough escape from the fourth-floor room, but they had snuck by the other staff and onto the elevators. "I'll give you ten minutes, then we have to leave."

"Alright," Erin nodded in agreement. Haley pushed her to Jacks bedside then disappeared out of the room to stand guard. It all seemed overwhelming to Erin, seeing Jack like this again. He had looked far worse this time than his last attack. She gently took his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze.

"Jack, what the hell happened." She obviously knew what she was told, a man hell bent on revenge to Jack had shot them. It was just out of shock, everything that happened from point A to B didn't make sense to her. "I am so sorry, I know you tried to protect me, there was a witness, you always do that." He may not have the title of Police officer, but Jack had, from the time she had met him always been one to play hero. She ran the back of her hand down his cheek, his skin was warm, and the scruffiness of his beard tickled her hand. "I love you Jack Boyle, god I hate to admit it sometimes, but I do. you drive me absolutely nuts but, in the end, +you make me happy and it took to long to see that." She kissed the back of his hand just as Haley returned.

"We have to go; the doctors are making rounds on your floor." Hesitantly, Erin release Jack's hand and let Haley wheel her out. She glanced back looking at him again, trying to telepathically tell him to keep fighting, to wake up right up until he was out of view. With Erin in the elevators and the doors closing, Haley pulled a tissue from her pocket and handed it to Erin.

"Are you okay," She asked.

"I think so, I will be better when he wakes up." Erin wiped her eyes.

"He has a lot to come back for, such a loving family, his beautiful daughter and of course you." Erin smiled and reached over to give Haley's hand, which sat gently on Erin's shoulder, a squeeze. When the doors opened on her floor they were met by another nurse, Noah who looked anxious.

"Hurry, they almost done with room five."

"Thank you for the heads-up Noah." Both of them rushed Erin to her room and carefully helped her back bed. "Take the wheelchair out," Haley instructed Noah who was quick to get rid of the evidence of Erin and Haley's field trip. "You know Erin, if that beautiful daughter of yours is single I could introduce her to Noah, he is such a sweetheart and single.

"Maybe hint towards it, Nicki is very strong minded and if she knows you are trying to set her up or it won't take."

"Perfect," Haley laid a blanket over Erin just as the doctors knocked on the door. "Looks like Dr. Kellen and his team are here, ill check in on you later Dolly." Erin grabbed Haley's hand and silently thanked her before her departure.

"Good morning Ms. Reagan."

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Nicki woke up confused, she was no longer in the hospital but rather in the childhood room of her mother. She pushed herself up and wiped the stray strains of hair blocking her vision, the sun shone brightly into her room and she began to wonder what time it was. She would admit that while she wished she was at the hospital, it felt refreshing to sleep in a bed rather than try to contort to a semi comfortable position in the hospital chair. She swung her feet to the edge of the bed, her feet hitting the cold hardwood floor. She could hear voices downstairs, making out the tones rather than the words. She could tell that Jamie was there with her grandfather and great grandfather. She decided to venture down there with a quick stop to the bathroom.

"Ah look who's up," Henry greeted her. "How did you sleep sweetheart?"

"Good, thank you." She looked at the clock it was ten thirty in the morning, she must have slept at least fourteen hours. She sat at the table where Jamie placed a cup of coffee in front of her. "Thank you."

"Are you hungry Kiddo," Frank asked her, all three of the men watched as she sipped at her coffee.

"A little," She lied, she was starving.

"I'll fix you some breakfast," Henry hopped up and moved to the fridge.

"I think after breakfast maybe you can stop by and grab some clothes from your dorm."

"I'd love that," Nicki laughed, she had been living off the same four outfits that Eddie had given her for the past week.

"Good, well I have to go to the office, but Jamie is going to take you."

"Okay, thanks Uncle Jamie."

"No problem Nic," He smiled. It didn't take more that ten minutes for Henry to finish a simple egg dish with toast and bacon. Nicki practically inhaled the food, anything was better than the hospital food she had been living off of.

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"Hey look who's up and walking," Nicki cheered. Erin, with the assistance of Haley and her IV pole slowly shuffled her way down the hallway of the fourth floor. Jamie and Nicki waited eagerly as she set her goal to walk far enough to meet up with them.

"Glad to see you two," Erin wrapped her arms around them both to greet them and have a little support while standing.

"Can you make it back Erin for should I get the wheelchair?"

"Maybe the chair," Erin quickly answered.

"Roger that," they all helped her to a small bench against the wall, sitting with her while Haley went to retrieve the wheelchair.

"So, I have to tell you three things," Erin took Nicki's hand.

"Okay," She replied nervously.

"Well for one thing, I went to see your dad today, I know you would somehow find out but Haley snuck me out.

"Mom, you're being a rebel," Nicki smirked.

"Don't let her fool you Nicki, she may be all proper mom but your mom has always been a rebel." Erin elbowed Jamie.

"Okay, second thing," Nicki laughed.

"Haley may try to play match maker with you."

"Oh man, with who?" Erin scanned the floor until her eyes fell on Noah.

"That Nurse over there," She subtly pointed to Noah who was helping a patient around Henry's age walk the floor.

"Oh, he's cute," Nicki said checking him out before returning her attention to Erin, "Last thing?"

"Well the doctors came to see me today and they said that if all goes well they will discharge me Monday."

"Mom, that's great," Nicki squealed.

"Did you tell her you're leaving me on Monday," Haley had returned.

"Yes."

"Can you believe that, you've got a strong Mama." Haley helped Erin to the chair.

"A strong Mom indeed," Nicki smiled.

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Erin was jolted awake from a nightmare, they started the prior day, short clips of what happened. Some of what she was dreaming was what her family told her and the rest had been memory of that night. It seemed to intensify each time she allowed herself to fall asleep.

"Erin, are you okay?" Eddie who was sitting in the room, magazine in hand had been alerted by the sharp yell that Erin let out.

"I…I think," she was in a panic, trying to steady her breathing. Eddie stood up and threw the magazine on the chair.

"You're safe now," Eddie tried to calm her soon to be sister in law.

"I know, I just think I'm starting to get my memory back." Eddie grabbed the styrofoam cup off of the tray and handed it to Erin, encouraging her to take small sips.

"I wish I knew what to say, remembering this must be hard."

"It's not the first time,"

"Danny told us you started having the nightmares yesterday."

"I did but that's not what I meant." Eddie looked at her quizzically for a moment. "I mean this isn't the first time I've been attacked and had the nightmares." Eddie nodded in understanding, she remember Jamie tell her about the traumatic time Erin was shot and how once she was attacked at her office by an convict. "This is different though."

"Because this time you don't remember and your brain is trying to piece it together." Erin nodded.

" I don't know what's real and not real."

"Can I ask you what you are getting." Erin debated for a moment, she liked Eddie but she didn't really know her all that well, on the other hand the woman had take time on her precious time off to visit and sit with her.

"I remember being happy, Jack and I walking, talking about when we first met," she laughed at the memory, "he was such a flirt and so persistent." Her smile soon faded when she thought of the next part echoed in her mind, the sharp pierce of the gunshot, her scream of shock, the smell of copper and the sensation of being cold. "We were just walking when someone called Jack's name, next thing I know he fired the gun at Jack then at me…" She remembered feeling the wet splatter of Jack's blood hit her face. She went to grab him but then the man shot her and her knees buckled, she couldn't move. A few gunshots sounded again and then she heard the sound of the gunman's shoes hitting the pavement heavy as he ran away. "The rest is a blur, I remember shaking because it was so cold even though it was nice out."

"You lost a lot of blood," Eddie explained.

"Next think I know I woke up here."

"Someone heard the gunshots in the called police, doctors said any later and you would have bled to death there."

"Danny told me that, I am so grateful to whoever called."

"A homeless man in the park who heard the shots, stopped a jogger, he is being hailed a hero for saving the police commissioner's daughter." Erin couldn't help but smile that the media was praising this man. Knowing Erin had finally calmed down Eddie helped her lay back again, " you need sleep, you're safe now."

"Thanks Eddie."

"You're welcome Erin, thank you for waking up." Eddie sat with her until her eyes fluttered shut before returning to her chair and magazine, it was 5:30, Danny would be here soon.


	10. Chapter 10

After a few trials of ambulation and a long weekend, Erin was finally going home. She sat in the wheelchair waiting on her father who had just run things down to the car. Part of her was happy to be out of the hospital, her hospital delirium had slowly started to creep in, but the other half of her was with Jack.

"Ready Mom," Nicki bounced in her mothers room, excitement in her step.

"As I'll ever be," Erin smirk wrapping her arms around her daughter. "Weren't you with your father?"

"Yes but I want to get you settled in at home."

"I believe your great grandfather and grandfather have that covered," she scoffed, "My weeks itinerary is already written out."

"Not fun being the one whom everyone else is over protective with," Nicki teased.

"Not in the least." Nicki chuckled and gathered the remaining items in the room, carefully piling them on Erin's lap before taking the reins of the wheelchair

"Off you go Ms. Erin," Haley stood cross armed in the hallway ready to say her goodbyes.

"Not without saying goodbye and a thank you that couldn't possibly be expressed enough."

"Don't get all sappy on me, my shift just started I don't to be crying." She leaned down and gave Erin a gentle hug. "Good luck, and I don't want to see you back here, you better listen to your family and not over do it," Haley warned.

"I'll be sure to keep a good eye on her," Nicki promised.

"A good daughter you have here," Haley reminded her. "And Ms. Nicki, don't forget my suggestion," Haley nodded towards Noah.

"Thank you Haley," Nicki said her goodbyes as she pressed the button to the elevator. Nicki wheeled Erin to the elevator and pushed the first floor button, waiting in silence as it made its long defend down. The doors opened and they were in the bustle of the lobby. "Ready to go home?"

"Absolutely," though her mind lingered on floor three she knew she'd be back.

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"Are you supposed to be up?" Erin cringed at the sudden presence who had caught her in her grand plan to escape the confines of the make shift room her father had set up in the Parlor.

"No," she said defeated before turning to face her brothers.

"We though so," Danny smirked.

"I just wanted to get a glass of water."

"And you couldn't ask Dad or Pop," Jamie questioned.

"I though I could get away with it since the wardens seem to be upstairs." Both brothers helped her settle back on the pull out couch, Jamie quickly disappearing and reappearing with a glass and small pitcher of water.

"Not so fun being the one who has to be taken care of huh," Danny grinned.

"You've been talking to Nicki," Erin glared.

"No but quite like you to play mother hen but the minute it's you, well how the tables have turned," Jamie handed her the glass.

"And speaking of Nicki, as per her request we are not allowed to let you out of this bed unless specified to be necessary," Danny added.

"Traitors," she mumbled.

"I'd ask how you're feeling but I know you would lie," Jamie laid next to her, Danny taking the other side.

"Miserable, I feel like a caged animal," she whined.

"Hence why we are here,"Danny crossed his arms across his chest and closed his eyes.

"Is that how you're justifying a nap," Erin rolled her eyes.

"Hey to get you to relax we have to relax," Erin tolled her eyes again.

"We just need to be her, I know Danny won't complete admit it but we thought the worst when we got the call, we are glad it wasn't." Erin felt guilty all the fear and pain they went through. She took one of each of their hands and gave it a squeeze.

"I'm not going anywhere."

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Everything hurt, it was as if a fireball had irrupted from his body. He tried to call out but nothing came of it, he could barely even lift a finger let along make a small sound. He knew there was a reason though, he could feel the discomfort in the burning of his throat. He tried so hard to open his eyes but the grogginess was defeating him and soon he lost consciousness again.

The second time around he heard the muffled voices, the outlines of which sounded familiar, one he knew almost immediately to be Nicki and the other one he couldn't quite place. He knew he had heard the voice, someone he had known before but not someone he had heard from in a while. He couldn't place it, at least not now, not while his brain was fighting against him.

Third times the charm, at least that's how the saying goes and it sort of applied here because he was finally able to open his eyes. Everything as a blurry mess of erratic shapes. It was dark though a small light that shone brightly was to his right. The voices were gone and instead he heard a full beeping noise. He tried again to make a sound but remembered he couldn't because of that pain in his throat. His efforts to move and make a sound had exhausted him and soon he could feel that blanket of sleep fall over his eyes before he faded out again.

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"No," Nicki shook her head at James who sat across from her. He glared at her as he thought for a moment, "No," Nicki repeated again as he tried to make his next move. He looked at her again before making up his mind. "Checkmate," Nicki smirked as she moved her knight next to his queen.

"I remember when you were little you barely knew chess, I was teaching you."

"Obviously you wouldn't have made a great teacher," she joked.

"Ouch," James grabbed his chest in his fake injured state.

"So tell me more…about my cousins." She started to reset the pieces

"Well I told you about my boy Ryan."

"Star of the lacrosse team, straight a student and set to graduate next year."

"Then there is Simon, he is our comedian much like your father."

"My dad, a comedian," Nicki laughed in disbelief.

"On top of a charmer, your dad always had the student body laughing."

"I find that hard to believe."

"It's true and that is exactly how Simon is, so many years it heart to have that personality around because…well I missed it."

"I hope to see it," Nicki looked at her father. "Now that your back I hope to meet your boys and wife, it's going to be weird having other cousins.

"They will love you." She focused back on the board in front of them, making her first movie before looking at James to see where he was going next, that's when she saw it. Out of her focused vision she saw movement, her eyes darted over to her father, a second passed and nothing happened. "What," James asked looking back at his brother.

"I thought I saw something," She rubbed her eyes and returned her eyes back to the game.

"Well, I called my wife, I guess you can call her Aunt Clara," James shrugged as he moved his next piece.

"Clara, that's not Clara Jannie?"

"Actually yes, how did you know that?"

"Dad used to talk a lot about his school years, when he mentioned you, he would talk about you and Clara in school, how you were best friends but lost touch when she moved a town over."

"We found our way back." She smiled; she was glad she was getting to know him better. She moved her rook and waited for him, out of the corner of her eye she saw something again, this time she jumped up. "What, did you see it again?"

"I swear I saw his hand," She slowly walked over and took his hand into hers. "Dad, it's Nicki; I'm here." She waited a moment and when nothing came, she almost laughed at herself. It was as she stood to return to the game and her hand was about to leave his that she felt it. It was so gentle, so weak that she almost missed it but then it happened again. "Dad," She turned around again this time clutching his hand tight to her. Slowly he began to move to the sound of her voice, a fight to get back to her, "Go get a nurse," She called back to her Uncle. "Dad, come on open your eyes im right here." A tear rolled down her cheek and fell on his shoulder. He slowly began to lift his eyelids, they felt like sandbags, but they finally did, and he looked into the eyes of his beautiful daughter. Her smile greater that he had ever seen, tears fell down her face as she began to sob. "You came back, you're really back."

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One thing that Frank never had was the close relationship of a sibling, being an only child had its advantages but as he watched his own kids grow up together and learn, fight and love it made him a little envious. When he walked into the parlor, he felt that moment. Danny's head rested against Erin's shoulder, his arms crossed and his mouth wide open with a grand snore going. Erin leaned against Jamie, her arm thrown across Danny's chest, and Jamie had his cheek rested on top of Erin's head. It had been an exhausting week, not much sleep had happened so to wake them seemed a crime.

"Francis," Henry yelled from the other room. Frank could hear him grow closer.

"In here Pop," He whispered back.

"Oh, I'm sorry," He lowered his voice. "Wow, I haven't seen them like this since that trip to upstate."

"That was a good trip, they all got along."

"Well Nicki just called, that's why I came to find you, Jack woke up."

"Thank God," Frank smiled.

"Yes, she was really cut for time, I think they were going to take him off the ventilator.

"I'm sure she will want to know."

"Maybe when she wakes up," Henry suggested.

"She needs the rest."

"They all do," they both nodded in agreeance and let the three of them sleep.

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	11. Chapter 11

Extubated and settled in, Jack held his daughters' hand as she threatened murder if he ever tried something like that again. He was quite aware of the man standing behind her, a face he hadn't seen in fourteen long years. He stood in the corner sheepishly as Nicki went on to tell Jack the status of Erin and the status of himself. It took Nicki a moment to notice that her father's attention was not on her. She glanced back at her uncle as he did his best to push himself farther back into the corner. The tension hung heavily in the room as Jack kept stealing glances at James who did his best to avoid eye contact. Finally, after not being able to take it anymore Nicki stood up and kissed her father on the cheek.

"I'm going to call grandpa and see how mom is doing," She announced, "talk," she quickly added. James almost pleaded with her silently to stay but before he knew it she was gone, the door closed before he could say anything. Now he stood, still huddled in the corner just staring back as Jack as he stared at him. He had a nervous tell, ever since he had been a kid and his father would yell at him, it was not quite subtle, and he knew Jack out of anyone could see it. He would rub the back of his right ankle with his left foot, while simultaneously nipping at his fingernail. Neither of them said a word but James quickly saw that the stare of Jack was not one of hatred but rather one of disbelief, like he had seen a ghost.

As he continued with his nervous tick, he slowly pushed himself closer to his brother's bedside, it almost reminded of times when he used to do something wrong that any younger sibling would pull, back then Jack would forgive him after a few hours. Now, he wondered how much time it would take for him to forgive fourteen years' worth of stupid.

"I'm glad you woke up," He stammered out. The silence after was killing him, Jack still just stared in disbelief. "I know sorry isn't going to cut it this time," He continues realizing that Jack was still at a loss of what to say. "I know I'm probably the last person you want to see, I should have come sooner, I should have just admitted that I was wrong." He wished Jack would say something, then again he didn't blame him, even with his last scare, James was nowhere to be found, of course he didn't know about that but still he should have. "I should have done a lot of things Jack and I understand if you hate me for everything but…"

"Hate you," He finally looked up at his brother's sudden response. "I will never hate you Jim." Jack tried his best to sit up, wincing with pain as he finally was able to sit face to face with his brother. "James all I wanted was to have you in my life but I knew that I couldn't push, that when you were ready… if you were ready you would come and find me."

"I'm sorry it took me so long, I missed you man." James sat beside Jack, for the first time in a long time he felt like he was whole again, back with his best friend.

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"Hi Dad," Erin sat at the small table in the kitchen. The clock above the stove read 10:30, Henry had gone up to bed an hour ago leaving Erin time to sneak around with out him hovering over her and denying her certain foods and most importantly coffee. All of this was really unnecessary, her doctor hadn't banned her from any foods or drinks except alcohol because of her medications.

"Careful, Pop may be asleep, but he always knows when someone is breaking one of his rules."

"I am well aware, the sleepovers with him and Grandma Betty." She could never forget how her and Danny would sneak downstairs and find the stash of ice cream her grandparents would hide behind the mountain of frozen vegetables.

"He rarely ever missed catching you kids."

"Nope, and every time I remember Danny telling me, not this time."

"And you listened to him?"

"I was seven and he was my older brother, back then anything he did I would follow him in a heartbeat."

"They you turned eight and the fighting began."

"We got better," she protested.

"Your fights happen less frequently, yes." He reworded her statement. "Sorry I haven't been here much, work had been keeping me busy."

"Don't worry, I have pop with me… 24/7."

"He just worries."

"I know I think I'm just going delirious from being cooped up here."

"Its been two days,"

"Two days of sitting, not allowed to go anywhere."

"Anywhere, do you mean the hospital?"

"Yes, Jack is awake, I just want to see him, he did try to save me during the attack." She swirled the water in her glass as she tried to push back the horrifying memories. "I know you and the rest of the family don't like Jack." She stopped him before he could respond," I know in the past it was bad, I had moments where I wanted to hate him too, but the past couple of years he has proven himself to me time and time again and I realized… I still loved him."

"I may not love the guy Er, but he saves you, protected you and to that extent he has earned my respect." Erin smiled. She stood up and slowly made her way to the sink, placing her glass in and returning to her father.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," She kissed him on the cheek and exited the kitchen. "Goodnight," she called out behind her.

"Goodnight," He sat a moment longer at the table, wheels turning before he finally got up turned off the light and headed upstairs.

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A few days passed since Jack had woken up, between therapy and tests he was kept rather busy and the same went for Nicki. Dividing time between Jack and Erin and going back to school she was pretty exhausted. Nicki flopped down in the chair next to him, her backpack skid off her shoulder and fell to the floor with a large thud. She has been behind in schoolwork and lucky for her many of her professors had been understanding. Jack who was currently trying to stomach what the hospital passed off as food.

"How are you feeling today Dad?"

"A lot better than I have been, but im sick of being poked and prodded."

"Well let it be a reminder that you should avoid any other future attacks."

"Noted," He smirked.

"Where is James?"

"To call his wife, she has offered to drive up with the kids for the weekend."

"How do you feel about that," she asked glancing side eyed at him to capture his expression.

"A little overwhelmed; meeting my nephews ones that I never knew were there and seeing Clara after all these years."

"If it happens it will be good, a start to the family bond."

"Yeah, it will be, good for all of us." He smiled and reached out for her hand. She took his hand and gave it a squeeze, having him here right now it was a blessing, he was alive when his chances had been so slim.

"Alright so Clara is coming, the boys too but only if you're up to it," James was back, he seemed back to his nervous way.

"I would love that, I was just telling Nicki, its about time." This got a large grin to develop on James face.

"Great, I'll let her know,"

"Well Dad, I'm thinking that since you are refusing this tray of food in front of you, I could take you on a trip to the cafeteria."

"That is still hospital food."

"Yes, but you can get out of this room."

"I don't think Nurse Rachet will allow it," he grumbled, he had an ongoing feud with the day nurse.

"Already cleared with Nurse Natalie," She emphasized the nurses name to give back the title and integrity she deserved.

"Honestly can same I'm have surprised, every time she's in here it's like she's got a stick up her…"

"Dad," She scolded him. He threw his hands up in surrender and kept his comments about Natalie to himself. "I'll get a nurse to help us." She disappeared out of the room and but not far enough to miss him yell out to her, "Any one but her!"

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"I don't see why you won't let me walk Dad, I'm perfectly capable," Erin crossed her arms as her father pushed her in the wheelchair down the busy halls of the hospital. She had an appointment; Frank had been the one keeping an eye on all of those which meant Baker had reminded him. She was hoping that somehow the doctor would clear her so she could go home, not that she wasn't grateful to her father and grandfather she was just going stir crazy.

"If you're cleared today you can walk all you want when we get done."

"I didn't get shot in the leg dad," She disputed.

"My rules." She sat back not up to debating the whole way to the office which was not someplace she knew about. Secretly she would love to sneak away and see Jack, she knew her father was not going to be easily convinced to make a detour before heading home.

"Where is this office anyway, you have taken me to three different hallways and still we are searching."

"We are early, just killing time," He replied half paying attention to her with the majority of his focus on his phone. She shrugged it off knowing he was probably in the middle of some unforeseen crisis, now she focused her attention on her location and as she read the passing signs, she noticed that they were far from the office buildings.

"Where is this appointment, I thought you said Dr. Clement's office was in the professional building."

"He is but as I said before we are early, actually," he glanced at his watch, "we are really early."

"Typical Dad, always early, she teased."

"How about we grab a quick bite in the cafeteria," he suggested.

"I could eat, not sure we will find suitable hospital food."

"Humor me," He said as he turned her chair in the direction of the food court.

It was bustling, for a standard size hospital café there were plenty of people who flooded in, it was around one thirty which was basically a lunch rush. Erin studied the people in the lines leading to the grill, a steady mix of patients, staff and visitors.

"How about we get a table." Erin looked back at her father and smiled.

"It does seem a little hectic maybe let it die down." Frank nodded and pushed her the seating area.

"I do believe we know a few people here." Erin's eyes darted back to her father before scanning the crowd, her eyes fell on Nicki who was in deep conversation with, "Jack." She knows realized that the wheelchair necessity was a ploy, she stood from it and made her way through the people. As Nicki glanced up, she caught a sight of her mother smiling as she was proud of the surprise she pulled off. Erin watched as Nicki stopped her father mid-sentence to deliver a line similar to the one that Frank had relayed to her. She was now right behind him as he turned around and his face light up. She didn't have to say a word; Jack shakily stood and wrapped him in a tight embrace.

"God Jack, never do that to me again," She sobbed. She pulled back from him a little and studied his face before laying a long-awaited kiss on his lips. They hadn't even seen Nicki sneak away from the table and both her and Frank wonder off.

"I promise," He whispered back. They held each other for a moment longer before finally letting go and sitting, a reunion long awaited and one that had been unlikely.

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Five months had passed since the horrifying day that her father and mother were shot. It had been an unimaginable horror in her life but now here she was in their apartment having lunch with them. After a week of discussing how terrified she had been to lose him again and him telling her the same they decided that their feelings weren't a fling and that the love the once had was still there. It had simply been dimmed from miscommunication and the inability to talk anything through. Jack had asked Erin to move in with him as soon as he was released from the hospital and she happily accepted, being by his side as he recovered and him being by her while she did the same.

The first month had been a trial with the men of the Reagan Clan as they learned that their opinion of Jack wasn't needed. They would never admit it but this being the second time that he had protected her had caused them to maybe like him a little more. It was quite amusing watching Erin scowled them for not only Nicki but Eddie.

Nicki took a sip of her coffee and watched them silently as they moved around the kitchen helping each other out with preparation, the love that she had seen when she was younger had reemerged from its dormant state.

"Here you go Nicki," Erin handed her daughter a hand full of silverware and plates.

"Mom and Dad," She spoked as she set each place setting.

"Yes Sweet," Her father called over his shoulder.

"I just want to say something, important." They turned their attention on her. "I just want to say it again because since that day I think I need to say it more; I love you guys."

"We love you too sweetheart," Erin replied.

"Five months ago today I almost lost you both, and now I just want you to know that…" Erin rushed to Nicki's side when she noticed the tears begin to form.

"We are here, safe and healthy and Nicole Mary Reagan-Boyle we love you." She kissed her on the forehead and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Come on let's eat," She guided her to the table and sat her down. Five months ago they began a fight for their life to be right where they are now, sitting with their daughter and with each other, defying the odds given they had made it back.


End file.
